Irvine’s luxury automaker Karma Automotive LLC struck a deal with San Francisco-based Drive Motors Inc., which specializes in online checkouts that help auto dealerships boost sales.
“Having our online shopping experience seamlessly powered by Drive Motors’ technology reinforces Karma’s reputation for luxury and innovation,” Karma Orange County Store Director Ehren Bragg said in a statement. “Our partnership enables us to expand Karma’s retail footprint beyond our current local markets, providing unprecedented accessibility to potential customers across the United States.”
Karma said the deal permits customers to finance or lease a Karma Revero online, requiring only a signature at the dealership. Customers can customize their new vehicles with specific upgrades from the home or office.
The deal comes during the rollout of $130,000 Revero models that’s taken place across the country over the past year.
Executives previously said the company wants to sell about 900 units of its main Revero line this year, resulting in about $120 million in sales for the privately held company.
Drive Motors said it “powers over $1 billion dollars in online car sales for the largest auto dealers, banks and brands in the world.” Its investors include heavyweights such as Thiel Capital and Khosla Ventures.
A competitor is Irvine-based AutoGravity Corp., which said its online app had arranged more than $3 billion in car loans as of August. It’s backed by a $50 million investment from Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit and a $30 million from VW Credit Inc.
Now, that should be a fun race to watch.
Veritone Roller Coaster
The once high-flying Veritone Inc. (Nasdaq: VERI) continues to struggle to convince Wall Street about the merits of its artificial intelligence technology.
The company is miles removed from its intraday high of $74.92 and a $1.1 billion market peak value last year.
Shares of the Costa Mesa-based company plummeted 23% in the four trading sessions after it reported third-quarter results on Nov. 12 to a 52-week low of $5.28. They’ve since climbed to about $6 and $116 million market cap as of press time last week.
The company reported record quarterly revenue that was double year-over-year to $7.5 million.
Sales in its artificial intelligence unit—the reason for Wall Street’s keen interest—rose 150% to $1.1 million year-over-year.
Veritone is trying to crack into the booming segment with its aiWARE platform, which allows companies to track advertisements and media mentions in real time.
It forecasted the fourth quarter will be another sales record at $9.3 million to $9.7 million.
Still, the company reported some negatives, such as its gross profit margin having fallen from 92% to 79% year-over-year.
Another troubling sign is its failure to meet a forecast of 95 customers in its AI unit by the end of the third quarter, when it had 93. It further predicted that number will fall to 89 by year-end. The company attributed the decline to politicians not renewing contracts following the November elections.
Microsoft Comes to Town
InXile Entertainment Inc., which at one point was so strapped for cash that it conducted a crowdfunding campaign, wasn’t looking for a buyer or a cash infusion when Microsoft Corp. came along.
The software giant first approached the independent Newport Beach-based video game publisher in March. Then discussions heated up in the past few months after several meetings among InXile founder Brian Fargo, Microsoft Studios Vice President Matt Booty, and Phil Spencer, Microsoft executive vice president of gaming.
Fargo described the sale of the company he founded in 2002, which the Business Journal profiled last week, as the ultimate job interview.
“It was quite the vetting process,” he told the Business Journal. “We had to go up there several times.”
His management team joked that visiting Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Wash., felt like they were commoners welcomed into the city for the first time. The high-rise offices, tours and amenities gave them a clear idea of what their business could never achieve on its own.
“We had to fight with one hand behind our back with less budget and resources,” Fargo said.
Those days are over under Microsoft, which has $136 billion in cash.
Microsoft has now acquired 13 gaming studios—six since June—to beef up its games catalogue for the Xbox console subscription service Game Pass, and its developing Project xCloud streaming game service.
Despite funding challenges, InXile developed popular titles “Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera” and “Bard’s Tale IV.”
The company employs about 75 people split between Orange County and New Orleans.
“We’ve always been excellent at punching above our weight,” Fargo said.
